These advanced topics build upon the nationally acclaimed Paralegal Certificate Course^©. These classes are available to students who wish to extensively build upon their knowledge of law and paralegal studies with classes in specialized facets of contemporary law. Your study and concentration on substantively specific materials will enable you to gain a strong competitive edge over other paralegals. The additional training gained through participation in these advanced classes will embellish your legal knowledge and skills, which in turn should increase your salary and marketability.

*Those who successfully complete at least six advanced topics will be awarded a Certificate of Completion.

Completing both the Core Requirements and the Advanced Requirements of the Paralegal Certificate Program provides comprehensive training and skills that should enable graduates to work in the quickly-growing paralegal profession. The two parts in combination have been designed to meet the requirements of the California Business and Professional Code §6450, legislation that took effect in California on 1/1/01.

Course Description
Advanced and specialized approaches to utilize the legal resources available in a law library, and elsewhere, will be examined. The conceptual differences between computer-assisted legal research and hard copy research will be taught. You will also learn how to formulate WESTLAW search queries and effectively and efficiently use WESTLAWNext, WESTLAW classic and other online legal research methods as time saving devices in legal research and legal writing.

Additional Information
Students are required to complete six Advanced Paralegal Course topics to receive a certificate. Each topic is offered in a seven-week online session. Students must successfully complete the Core Requirements before they take the Advanced Paralegal Course. Up to three Advanced Paralegal Course topics may be taken during a seven-week online session and Advanced Paralegal Course topics do not have to be taken in any particular order. 

Required Books

Legal Research in a Nutshell, most recent edition - ISBN 978-1-63460-462-8

A Uniform System of Citation (a.k.a. "The Bluebook")

WESTLAW

Highly Recommended Books

Oran'sDictionary of the Law, 4th Edition - ISBN 978-1-4180-8091-4

Prerequisites
Successful completion of Paralegal 1 and Paralegal 2, or the equivalent, or law office experience.